Chocolate refrigerator chunks - dairy free of course

There are times when only chocolate will do. But when you're eating dairy free, you can't just grab the first bar you find. Then if you're eating gluten free and want to cut out the junk and eat more whole food, then things get even more complicated. By the time you actually find something that meets the criteria and hits the spot, life has moved on and you don't really want it anymore! Which is great for the waistline, but frustrating for the tastebuds! Or worse, you succumb and eat something that makes you feel dreadful.

There are more and more dairy free chocolate brands available to buy, usually in the supermarket free from section or a health food shop, but they can be expensive and you don't really know what's in them.
You could make you're own chocolate of course - something that I do want to do. I even have a friend

who teaches it, but still haven't made it to a class. Fortunately, I have an easy solution to chocolate bar frustration that's really quick to make and tastes amazing - chocolate refrigerator chunks.
The recipe of these came together after I was bought a solid chocolate 'cake bar' from a healthy food stall - a long, mars bar sized chunk filled with nuts and dried fruit. Having not consumed a decent chocolate bar for a number of years, it was quite a revelation, but so rich and filling that I couldn't finish it all, despite a seriously concerted effort. Having made great changes to the way I eat, it really was just too much for me - shocking!
Whenever I munch my way through a new food or dish, I'm always analysing it's make up and trying to decide how to recreate it myself. Realising that this would be simple, I grabbed the dairy free chocolate drops and got to work.
The actual content of the bar is totally up to you - whatever combination of dried fruit, nuts or seeds you like. These little goodies bring in the healthy bit by introducing fabulous fibre as well as an assortment of essential fatty acids, minerals and phytonutrients. You could even add puffed rice or buckwheat, or some gluten free granola to give it another dimension.
So why not give this a go and create your own individualised chocolate chunk that just hits the spot!
Chocolate refrigerator chunks

250g dairy free chocolate
2 tablespoons coconut oil
250g of chopped nuts, seeds and dried fruit
(my favourite combo is pecan, raisin, cranberry, pumpkin and flaxseed)
Pop the dairy free chocolate and coconut oil in a medium sized bowl. Place it over a small pan of simmering water and stir whilst it melts to combine. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts, seeds and fruit combo you've chosen - mix well.
Tip the mix into a prepared tin (*see below), cover with a freezer bag and place in the freezer for a couple of hours to set hard. Remove from the freezer, tip out of the tin onto a board and chop into chunks (careful of your fingers though as it's pretty hard). Place chunks into a pot and leave in the fridge until you're ready to eat them (if you manage not to eat them all during the chopping process). Enjoy!
*I have found that disposable flan dishes are the best mould to use, and as it's easy to remove when frozen, you can reuse them a number of times. If you don't have any, just line any tin with foil to help you remove it later - don't use cling film though, unless you want it as part of your chocolate chunk!

All about 1847 - the restaurant not the year!

Having decided to have a business based around food, I spend a lot of time cooking, whether experimenting on the family in the kitchen or preparing dishes for my course participants or supper club attendees. Now don't get me wrong, I do love it, but I also really enjoy someone else doing the cooking every now and then and having an evening out.

Stuffed aubergine rolls

When you have to be careful with certain ingredients though, eating out can become a little challenging at times, depending where you are. More and more chain restaurants like Zizzi and Los Iguanas have cottoned on (which is great if you live near one) and provide dairy free, gluten free and vegan options for their more sensitive guests, but the choice is limited, so can get a little repetitive if you want to eat out regularly. Now that may sound a little picky, and to be honest I'm just grateful to be able to eat something that I know won't make me ill! But sometimes it is nice to have more of a choice. Fortunately, living so close to Brighton, there is a veritable array of cafes and restaurants to chose from, serving up (mainly) delicious and innovative creations. The only dilemma then is choosing where to go and what to have, which when you've got used to such limited choice can be a little overwhelming at first!

1847 opened up in North Road in Brighton last year, right in the heart of the ever popular North

Fragrant pakoras

Laines. It is part of a chain - there's 4 locations now - and is light and modern inside. We booked quite early for a Saturday night as we had an event to go to after, but it was still pretty busy, so booking is definitely advised.

What I love about restaurants like 1847 is that because they are dedicated to vegetarian or vegan food, the menu features variety, creativity and a real understanding of how plant based flavours combine, often in innovative ways. The menu clearly marked which were vegan and there were also gluten free options - a real bonus for the sensitive diner! The only one who struggled a little in choice was my hubby - aubergine was a big feature in the the vegan options and he's not a fan, but he was happy with some deliciously lightly spiced pakoras to start followed by 'fish' and chips' on a sweet pea puree - the presentation was so precise it was almost a shame he had to eat it! 

Surf and turf

Our friends tried the stuffed aubergine roll to start, which was also so pretty, followed by celeriac gratin made with local cheese - obviously not for the dairy free diner, but the construction was awesome and they declared it delicious . I opted for their 'Surf and Turf' option, a huge aubergine steak that was crisp on the outside and unctuously gooey on the inside, with a herb 'butter'. The surf was sea vegetables, which I have to say didn't really do it for me, but it was a clever idea. 

Even though we were pretty stuffed, the dessert menu had options, so had to be tried. I had heard the vegan gluten free chocolate brownies were awesome, and I can confirm that rumour is true - my friend chose them and then we had to help her clear the plate as it's a huge portion! Don't order one for yourself unless you are seriously hungry. The vegan creme brûlée was also a big hit, and beautifully presented. Mine however, the trifle, was quite a disappointment as it promised much and delivered little. My mistake; curiosity and a childhood love of trifle tempted me but I should have had the brownies!

Amazing chocolate brownies

So all in all, we had a great experience at 1847 - fabulous gins, great food (mostly), super company (provide your own!) and all finished in time to go and enjoy the rest of our evening with happy tummies, but a slightly lighter wallet! I'm sure we'll be back again some time soon - those brownies are calling!

Learning and teaching enthusiastically

When I started eating a dairy and yeast free diet 7 years ago, it was really tough! For a start, trying to get my family and friends to stop fretting about my food choices was hard, and cooking food that kept everyone happy was a challenge. I was starting from scratch with many recipes, trying to work out how to adapt them successfully (there were more than a few failures, that's for sure!). And as for eating out, well that was like being in an episode of Fawlty Towers at time, without the canned laughter and funny bits.
Then just to make it even more complicated, we moved to India, where many of the 'free from' items

we relied on were not available, and finally going mainly plant based, which really freaked some people out. Never knowingly normal!
I've learnt a lot on my food journey, and continue to learn all the time, and indeed still making changes - you may have noticed more gluten free recipes appearing recently. There's been a few mistakes, some frustration and the odd tantrum (whose, I'm not saying!). But I don't regret it, and I don't even miss my old favourite foods any more, as I have loads of new favourites instead, that don't leave me unwell or in pain. Plus there's so many 'side-benefits' to eating a whole food plant based diet, like glowing skin and hair, and effortless weight loss. There's continual discovery and experimentation going on in my kitchen, less cookery rules to follow and a budding array of new restaurants and cafes to visit, as suddenly eating plant based is 'in'.

One of the things I love about my journey, is sharing the benefits with other people so they can start their own healthy food adventure, only with less hiccups - that is why I created my Eat Well, Live Well course. Packed full of the valuable information, short cuts and tips I have learnt over the last few years, I just love seeing others become enthused and enjoying the changes in their own lives, or someone close to them. And because it's not just about learning information, but enjoyment too, I always include a full lunch (or supper) as part of each session, and provide a full recipe folder of over 60 dishes to follow. In fact, one recent participant only cooks from my folder, which is quite a compliment.
Covering diverse subjects like nutrition 101, social norms, how to bake amazing cakes and gut bacteria, the Eat Well, Live Well course is a 5 week spring board into never looking at food the same way again. The next cohort starts this week in Hove on Thursday 9th June, so time is short to get on board before the summer break - email me if you want to join us karen@thesensitivefoodietichen.com. If you can't come along and join the fun this time, there'll be other opportunities, including an on-line version that should be available from September. Exciting times!